© WFP/Leonora Baumann
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The second largest country in Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ranked 5th of 178 countries on the 2019 Fragile States Index, placing it in the highest category of risk (“very high alert”). DRC is now the second largest hunger crisis in the world after Yemen. Hunger and conflict fuel one another, with armed conflict and widespread displacement prevailing for the past 25 years and multiple other crises compounding DRC’s humanitarian challenges.
Since 2016, the long-running crisis in the east (Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika provinces) aggravated and spilled over to previously stable regions, such as the Kasai and the Equateur, forcing some 4.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) to flee from their villages and lose their agricultural livelihoods and jobs. The number of food-insecure people almost doubled from 7.7 million in 2017 to 13.1 million in 2018, making access to food a daily struggle for a significant part of the Congolese population. An estimated 5 million children are acutely malnourished.
What WFP is doing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Crisis response
In October 2017, WFP activated a corporate Level 3 Emergency covering the six most populous and conflict-affected provinces – North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri, Kasai, Kasai Central and Tanganyika. A significant scale-up of WFP activities was required to reverse the deepening hunger crisis and WFP’s strengthened field operations yielded substantial results by reaching 5.2 million Congolese beneficiaries in 2018 with lifesaving food and nutrition assistance. In 2019, WFP is targeting over 5 million people. DRC Emergency PageEbola
WFP helps reduce the propagation of the Ebola virus by providing food to Ebola patients and potentially affected people, and by providing crucial logistical services, including trucks and planes, which enable responders to reach new or remote outbreak areas quickly. WFP also launched a school feeding programme in the affected areas to address the needs of the population through a more holistic approach and build trust and positive engagement. DRC Emergency PageSupport for smallholder farmers
WFP in partnership with FAO, UNHCR and UNICEF works with returnees, IDPs, refugees and local communities to build assets that improve resilience to shocks, promote self-reliance and economic recovery. These joint programs help smallholder farmers to improve production and trading capacities, provide trainings on agricultural techniques, literacy to promote women’s empowerment, construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure. Small-scale livelihood activities are also being developed with refugees from Central African Republic and host communities.Nutrition
In order to treat and prevent malnutrition, WFP is providing specialized nutritious food to vulnerable people including children under 5, and pregnant and breastfeeding women. Targeted populations also receive tailored, nutrition-focused communications.School meals
WFP’s emergency school-feeding programme provides meals in schools, mostly located in Ebola affected and returning areas from the North Kivu province. The meals improve the nutrition of vulnerable students and increase school attendance, thereby reducing the risk of children being recruited by armed groups.United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS)
The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service provides aid workers, donors and diplomatic missions with safe, flexible, efficient and cost-effective air transportation to 40 locations across a country the same size as western Europe. UNHAS also enables access to Ebola-affected areas for the entire response community, with four aircrafts having been added to the fleet.Humanitarian coordination
WFP leads the Logistics and Emergency Telecommunications (ETC) Clusters, which coordinate responses to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of humanitarian assistance for the entire humanitarian community in the DRC. WFP also co-leads the Food Security Cluster with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In focus
Democratic Republic of the Congo news releases
Go to pagePartners and donors
Achieving Zero Hunger is the work of many. Our work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is made possible by the support and collaboration of our donors, including:Find out more about the state of food security in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Visit the food security analysis pageOperations in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Contacts
Kinshasa,
Boulevard du 30 Juin, Immeuble Losonia - Gombe, Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Phone: switchboard (+243) (0) 817 006 714 and 815 552 199/2499/2899/2399
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